Freddie P's Blog

August 2007 Archives

I don't have this on the strictest of authourity, but it looks like "Interac" is coming to Tim Horton's.

I went to my local Timmy's this morning and the two people in front of me tried to use their interac cards and were abruptly don't they weren't accepted.

This has always bewildered me. Given today's almost cashless society, it seems odd that Tim Horton's wouldn't offer this service up until now.

I've asked several times why they don't accept interac but I've never received a concrete answer. It's run the gamut from the administration is a needless expense, to having people swipe cards and push buttons would hold up the already sizable lines on a day to day basis, to not wanting to bother because most receipts are below three dollars and who the hell doesn't have three dollars in their pocket.

Today when I once again asked the lovely young attendant why "Tim Horton's" doesn't accept interact she didn't give me a reason, she gave me a reply.

"We're going to accept them very soon." she said.
"Why haven't they accepted them up until now." was my retort.
"I don't know." she offered.

But I was satisfied. I'm glad Horton's is finally going to accept interac and I look forward to the day they do.

More and more I find myself with less and less cash in my wallet. There's really no need for it. Between using my credit cards to pile up "aeroplan" miles, and using my interact card for most other things, I rarely find the need for cash.

I realize that using interac for small transaction's isn't the smartest thing to do because of service charges at the bank, but when you get into buying lunch at Horton's, or buying several coffees for a group, it sure will come in handy.

I'm glad to see Brampton mayor Susan Fennell has come out to squash a ridiculous rumour that's been making the rounds in recent weeks.

I had a few people actually say it to me in the last month or so and it made me laugh.

Rumour had it that Brampton was offering between three and ten thousand dollars to people in the Jane/Finch corridor to move west. The money would be used as a down payment on houses in new developments.

Of course this threw Brampton residents into hysterics fearing the "gang element" would move west, and it made the smug bastards in Mississauga happy because it was another slam against the city they can only dream of being.

It's a popular pastime for Mississaungins to take shots at Brampton, and it really is quite amusing.

I grew up in Scarborough and I've lived in Brampton for the past 27 years. I still hold Scarborough near and dear to my heart and I have only good things to say about Brampton.

Amusingly both communities are pissed upon by the rest of civilization.

I've raised my kids in Brampton and love it just as much or more than I do. It's our home and it's been a good home and it still is to this day.

It's interesting how images are established and then fed upon by those who don't know their ass from their elbow.

Per capita, Brampton has more parks, recreational facilities and open spaces than any other city in the GTA.

Granted, Brampton has some pockets that aren't so great - but Mississauga has more, and I could even take you to some dumpy areas in Georgetown and Oakville. Conversely, Brampton has some areas that rival or surpass anything else in Southern Ontario.

I'm in a position right now where I could move anywhere I wanted to, but it keeps coming back to the same thing. I can't find anywhere better than Brampton.

I could move to Mississauga amongst all the condos and traffic and box malls - but I choose not to.

I could be a real sucker and move to over-rated Oakville where you pay way more for a house than it's actually worth and then realize Oakville's entire reputation is based on a small downtown area full of snobs who live in million dollar bungalows - other than that, it might was well be Brampton.

Correction: Other than that, it wishes it were Brampton.

I've thought about Georgetown but the thought didn't last long - and then there's Toronto, but with almost four years of David Miller remaining, I'd be better off in Havana.

No thanks. For the time being, I'll just stay in good old Brampton and become a little more thick skinned.

Several people have e-mailed me to ask why I didn't comment on two sports issues.

David Beckham visiting Toronto and the hype that surrounded it, and Barry Bonds setting the all-time home run record.

That's one of the great things about writing a blog. You can pick and choose your subjects without having them mandated and these two subjects did not inspire me in the least.

The Beckham thing was so "Toronto" it made me sick. A soccer player on the downside of his career signs a ridiculous contract with a second rate soccer league but Toronto goes whacky when he comes to town and doesn't even play.

Toronto's thirst to be "world class" sometimes as exposes us for nothing but a backwoods community of hosers. The media attention was pathetic, but that was obviously fuelled by the people's desire to know.

Know where he was going, what he was doing, who he was with, where he ate, where he drank and where he crapped.

And here's the irony. Even anyone thinks David Beckham will play-out his five year deal with the Los Angeles Galaxy they're dreaming - and anyone thinks Toronto FC will survive for five years is also dreaming.

What happened in Toronto last week with Beckham was nothing short of stupid.

As for Barry Bonds - nobody with his disposition and attitude deserves to the accolades he'll receive for breaking the all-time home-run record.

Screw the steroids angle. Who gives a shit?

Clean or dirty Barry Bonds is a king sized asshole with no class and totally detached from reality.

Barry Bonds was blessed with the ability to hit a ball with a hunk of wood and it just so happens that our society holds this high regard and his willing to pay big dollars for it.

Unfortunately, because of this Bonds thinks he's something special. He really thinks he makes a significant contribution to the world and therefore has the right to treat most others like dirt.

Things haven't been going too well for major league baseball in recent history and having Barry Bonds as their new home run king with all the baggage that he carries is something the sport could have done without.

I don't have a lot of time for writing today because I've got a lot of physical work to do.

This is a picture of my dock which contains the Tiki Bar and a sitting area. My wife, who is always looking to improve and expand things thinks we need more room for the sitting area and she wants to incorporate our fire-pit into it.

So for most of today and part of tomorrow I'll be expanding the dock/deck/slash sitting area.

It won't involve much. It will measure 14' by eight feet so there other than having to cut five, sixteen foot 2x6's it won't involve much more than having to screw boards together.

There could be a bit of challenge securing the platform out over the water, but several pieces of 4x4 usually does the trick, and if you use enough of them you can take all the bounce out of the floor.

I'll take a picture when it's done so you can see the results.

However, before I get working on the dock today, I have to pile a load of firewood I ordered from old Merv Bullock.

Merve is the main supplier of fire wood to me and my neighbours. He's a nice old bugger who gives you prompt service and usually a quality product that burns like it's supposed to.

Some of the old bastards up here will drop you a load of wood that you'd swear was stored underwater for a few a months.

But now Merv, he gives you a nice load with a good measure of hard word mixed in with the other stuff.

Lou Schizas is a very interesting man. He's an analyst on the Business News Network, and for lack of a better term he's the money man of am 640.

I first met Lou at Humble Howard's wedding way back in 1989 and even though he lived in Calgary until the end of the 90's, through Howard I saw Lew periodically and always enjoyed his company.

Lew is a man of many interests and informed opinions and it was welcome news in 2001 when it was announced that he would be part of the original lineup on MOJO radio.

It's a big week for Lou. Not only has he launched his own website which I highly recommend to everyone, but Lou will also serve as a contributor to the new Bill Watters Show with Jeff Marek which makes its debut this afternoon at four.

As a kid my summers were spent near a lake, I more or less raised my kids on the very same lake, and now that they're grown, it's nice to see a new generation of kids enjoy this wonderful place.

The picture you see is my daughter Melanie on the right, and her best friend Kate who've spent their summers together since they were nine years old. Now they're in their mid-20s and happily remain trailer trash. Saturday night they paid a visit to the Tiki Bar.

Exposing your kids to the "north country" is very important because opens up a whole new world they simply can't appreciate while stuck in the city.

Yesterday for example a little fella named Ashton experienced his first "tube" ride and he's barely two years old. Granted, his mother was with him, but it's the first step in what will probably lead to skiing or wake boarding in the very near future.

The kids swim and fish and catch frogs and enjoy campfires and walking through the woods. It's endless.

Yes it's enjoyable to watch their faces moment to moment as new experiences a presented to them constantly.

And what's especially enjoying is watching a kids face when they arrive for the first time, or they're old enough to actually appreciate and take in what they see around them.

Our friend Lori has a niece named Maddy and although she's been here before, now she's of an age where she notices everything around her and this past holiday weekend was so beautiful she got to experience it all.

Swimming, a ride in a boat, a ride on a ski-doo and lots of interaction with a pile of other kids. A jammed packed weekend that at times can actually be overwhelming for a kid who's just over a year old.

She enjoyed herself very much and we all enjoyed having her around for the weekend.

Off the top let me say what a big fan of Mike Stafford I am. When I'm by a radio in the afternoon, it's usually tuned to 640 so I can hear Mike's wonderful mix of humour, intelligence and irreverence.

Having said that, I must admit that I'm excited by a radio war that's about to take place in Toronto.

640 had decided to go head to head with the Fan 590 in the afternoon drive period and for a radio fan, a sports radio fan it could be intriguing.

Mike Stafford will move to mid mornings where he'll have no equal, while Bill Watters and Jeff Marek will occupy the 4pm - 7pm slot and go right up against Bob McCown on the Fan.

McCown has dominated the male 35-54 demographic on the am band during afternoon drive for several years. Ironically, the last time he wasn't number one is when Stafford was hosting the MOJO afternoon drive show.

Whether anyone likes to admit it or acknowledge it, Mike actually beat Bob, but in McCown's defense his numbers were also fragmented to a small degree back then by the launch of "The Team."

Now the lines have been drawn for another battle and nobody should sell Watters and Marek short. They are going to cause all kinds of problems for the Fan and probably force McCown to talk about a lot more hockey than he'd like to.

Needless to say, as Toronto's home of the Maple Leafs "The Bill Watters Show" will lean heavily towards hockey and in this market that's "gold" and it's going to force a lot of cross tuning in the afternoon.

To McCown's credit, he loves to talk about all sports and all issues and he does a fabulous job with it. McCown enjoys "not" talking about hockey and is often aggravated by those who insist on talking hockey when there are so many other things to talk about.

Well things are about to change. Instead of having the afternoon sports audience all to himself and being able to feed that audience with anything he wants, McCown will now have to deal with an established hockey show just a short distance up the dial.

All of a sudden he'll have to share the market of adult males because when he's not talking hockey, there will be a lot of buttons being pushed.

You can't argue with reality. Toronto is a hockey market, especially a Leafs market and if that's the subject people listen. Call us puck heads or hockey hacks or anything you want, but we love our Leafs and we want to hear about them to a nauseating fault.

Why do you think The Fan counter-programmed Leafs Lunch with their Hockey Central Show a few months ago. It's because sports fans were leaving Mike Hogan's show on the Fan and listening to a show about hockey and nothing but hockey.

Now we're about to enter another phase and it's going to be very interesting.

Bob McCown does a fabulous interview and Prime Time Sports is a quality show, without a doubt the best sports radio talk show I've heard anywhere in North America, but starting next week and especially during the hockey season, while McCown is doing an in depth segment on the NBA or talking to a doctor about steroid use in baseball or interviewing a boxing expert, sports fans will now have an alternative.

Listen to a segment they're sort of interested in, or flip the dial and get exactly what they want. Hockey talk and hockey talk done very well.

Here's the deal. This battle will not create any more listeners for sports talk in the GTA, what it will do is change the distribution, and going in, that could be bad news for The Fan.

It's going to be fun to watch. I only wish I could be part of it. And I'd play for either team.

FreddieP.ca has been stagnant for a couple of days for two reasons. One is my responsibility, and the other is not.

On Tuesday morning, I went golfing with a few trailer buddies. Eighteen holes at Katchiwano Golf Club near Lakefield in the Kawarthas.

I didn't drag my wide ass out of bed until 8:10 so I didn't have enough time to update the website prior to hitting the links.

We didn't tee off until nine o'clock and as you know the heat was punishing. By the time we were finished, I was exhausted. I really can't explain it.

I've walked 18 holes before, but on the heels of a road trip last week and a very busy day on Monday, by the time I was finished golfing my legs and arms felt like cement. And by the time I got back to the trailer it was so hot I really didn't feel like dealing with a slow internet connection, so I took the day off.